Children who are connected to the Kanagawa Ward.

　Kanagawa Ward is the fourth most foreigners in the city, with a population of about 250,000, of which about 8,000 are foreigners. In this month's “Exploring People and Towns in Director General (outside site)”, we talked to Yu Space, who has been supporting learning activities for children connected to foreign countries in Kanagawa Ward for more than 10 years.

　One day's learning classroom was disturbed. When you open the door, "Hello!" And children greeted me with a cheerful voice. On this day, 2nd to 6th grade children from China, Nepal and Indonesia gathered, and the children who completed homework and school study supplementary lessons spent their favorite things such as crafts. In the classroom, cheerful voices echoed, and it was such an impression that "Every child is alive at his own pace."…
　According to the story, most of the children who use the learning classroom at Tomo Yu Space come to Japan without understanding Japanese at all in order to live with their families working in Japan. It seems that communication is difficult and friends are difficult.
　It is uneasy even for adults to spend time in a land with different language and lifestyle. Tomo Yu Space is working in the form of "learning support" so that children who are full of anxiety and can live a school life with peace of mind. This learning classroom is a place where you can meet friends in the same position, and I thought that the children's flashing smile was because of the trust and security of everyone who supported me.

　More than 10 years have passed since the activity started, and now Yu Space has been holding weekly learning classes at three locations in the city. Currently, there are 49 members registered as volunteers from high school students to a wide range of age groups. On Saturday, when the welfare and health activity base "Hato Tomo" is the venue, members of Soshin Gakuin students are also active.

　The long-awaited international exchange lounge will be opened in Kanagawa Ward at the end of this fiscal year.
　I want everyone living in Kanagawa Ward to live with a smile. To this end, I would like to work with you to grow up as a place where Japanese and foreigners living in Kanagawa Ward can interact, as well as a place where people can learn and understand each other's cultures and customs.

May, 2023

Mayor of Kanagawa Masayoshi Hibino

※From this month, "Director General People and Town Exploration (External Site)" will be serialized on the theme of "Child" and "Child care".